Dave Gilbert (game designer)
| residence = New York City, New York | nationality = American | alma_mater = Boston University | spouse = Janet Gilbert (2009–present) | children = }} Dave Gilbert (born March 31, 1976) is an American designer of independent adventure games using Adventure Game Studio. He began creating home-made, freeware games, and went professional in 2006, founding Wadjet Eye Games and releasing commercially The Shivah and The Blackwell Legacy. Game design career Gilbert's first adventure game was The Repossessor in 2001, an entry in the Reality-on-the-Norm series (a shared universe for adventure games started by Ben Croshaw). He went on to make three more RON titles, which gained a reputation for being among the better games in the series. In 2003, Gilbert released Bestowers of Eternity — Part One, a game about a young woman who inherits a family ghost when her aunt dies in an insane asylum. It went on to win multiple awards in the 2003 AGS Awards.AGS Awards 2003 (cited 20 February 2009) In 2004, the AGS Forums organized the AGS Team Challenge, an informal contest where teams worked together to create an adventure game. Gilbert designed and wrote Two of a Kind for the contest. The game included two playable characters with different abilities and personalities, an unusual feature in an adventure game. This was one of only two games completed (the other was The Hamlet) by the deadline, and both were declared co-winners. Two of a Kind received positive reviews, and won an AGS Award for Best Gameplay. In the summer of 2006, Gilbert produced The Shivah, one of the first video games to star a rabbi, for MAGS, the monthly one-month AGS game contest (which it won). After its release, Gilbert decided to rework the freeware version, improving the graphics, adding new puzzles and voice acting, and released it as a commercial title. The game received good reviews and considerable attention in the press,[http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060926/hawkins_01.shtml Gamasutra, Are there any Jews in the Audience?] [http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/fun.games/12/13/shivah.rabbi.reut/index.html CNN.com coverage of The Shivah] mainly because of its subject matter. It earned some criticism in the Israeli press.Scan of article in Maariv translation to English (cited 31 December 2006) The Shivah is sold through Manifesto Games on a non-exclusive basis. Turning his hobby into a professional career, Gilbert decided to become a full-time game designer. He founded Wadjet Eye Games to sell The Shivah and his forthcoming titles. A few months later, in December 2006, The Blackwell Legacy was released. This game was a much-improved remake of Bestowers of Eternity (revamping the earlier project which he considered to be over-ambitiousAdventuregamers.com interview with Dave Gilbert), but continued past the end of the earlier game, telling more of the story. The Blackwell Legacy was intended as the first installment of an episodic game. The second game, a prequel called Blackwell Unbound, was released on 4 September 2007. In February 2008, a publishing deal was announced between Wadjet Eye Games and PlayFirst.PlayFirst Signs Acclaimed Developer Wadjet Eye Games to Publishing Deal PlayFirst Feb 18 2008 press release, via Reuters (cited 20 February 2009). Under the agreement, Wadjet Eye Games would develop a casual adventure game for PlayFirst. The resulting game, Emerald City Confidential, a noir story set in the world of Oz, was released on 19 February 2009.PlayFirst Releases Emerald City Confidential, A Noir-Inspired Twist on the Book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz PlayFirst Feb 19 2009 press release, via Yahoo! Finance (cited 20 February 2009) Awards In 2007, Dave Gilbert's Wadjet Eye studios was nominated for Best New Studio in the prestigious Game Developers Choice AwardsGame Choice Awards nominees (cited 12 February 2007) and presented The Shivah at the associated Game Developers Conference.Game Developers Conference 2007 Session Info: The Shivah (cited 12 February 2007) Gilbert was also awarded the AGS Lifetime Achievement Award in February 2007AGS Awards for 2006 winners (cited 12 February 2007) to go along with his other eight AGS Awards. In 2008, Gamasutra listed Gilbert and Wadjet Eye as one of their top 20 breakthrough developers.Gamasutra Top 20 Breakthrough Developers (cited 20 October 2008) Personal life Dave Gilbert is Jewish, a background he drew upon in making The Shivah. However, he claims that he is not at all religious. Despite this, he feels a strong connection to his Jewish heritage beyond its religious aspect.Adventure Classic Gaming interview with Dave Gilbert (cited 17 February 2009) Gilbert spent some years in South Korea, teaching English as a second language and spent some time exploring China. He now lives in New York City with his wife, Janet, and daughter, Eve. Games Developed ;Freeware * The Repossessor (Reality-on-the Norm) (2001) * The Postman Only Dies Once (Reality-on-the Norm) (2001) * Purity of the Surf (Reality-on-the Norm) (2003) * A Better Mousetrap (Reality-on-the Norm) (2003) * Bestowers of Eternity - part one (Adventure Game Studio) (2003) * Two of a Kind (Adventure Game Studio) (2004) ;Commercial (Wadjet Eye Games) * The Shivah (2006) * ''Blackwell'' series ** The Blackwell Legacy (2006) ** Blackwell Unbound (2007) ** Blackwell Convergence (2009) ** The Blackwell Deception (2011) ** Blackwell Epiphany (2014) * Emerald City Confidential (2009) * Unavowed (2018) Produced * Puzzle Bots (2010) * Gemini Rue (2011) * Da New Guys (2012) * Resonance (2012) * Primordia (2012) * A Golden Wake (2014) * Technobabylon (2015) * Shardlight (2016) References External links *Dave's new blog *Dave's old blog *Wadjet Eye Games * *Reality-On-The-Norm website *YouTube video of Dave Gilbert presenting The Shivah at the IGDA NY Chapter Demo Night on August 23, 2006: **Part 1 **Part 2 **Part 3 Category:Adventure Game Studio Category:American Jews Category:American video game designers Category:Video game designers Category:American male video game actors Category:American male voice actors Category:Voice directors Category:Video game producers Category:Video game writers Category:1976 births Category:Living people Category:Adventure games Category:AGS Award winners